Sometimes it's helpful to add one group to another. For example, if you have a group for each team that's part of a larger department, you can save the time it takes to individually add each member to a larger department group.
Larger groups are called parent groups. Added groups are nested, child, or subgroups.
Why nest groups
You might nest groups to:
- Have messages you post to the parent group posted to the child group*—You can do this if the child group's posting permissions allow it.
- Change members of the parent group by editing the child group—This works if multiple parents contain the same child group.
*Messages posted in child groups appear as placeholders that link to the message in the parent group. This ensures that external members of child groups don't get access to content shared in internal parent groups through the Groups product.
Tip: To add and remove members automatically based on criteria such as department or location, see Manage membership automatically with dynamic groups.
How nested group permissions work
The following rules apply to nested groups:
| Rule | Description |
|---|---|
| Members of child groups are not direct members of parent groups |
Because child group members don't belong to parent groups, they:
|
| Child group members inherit some permissions from parent groups | If a Google Docs file is shared with a parent group, child group members can also access the doc.* *This does not apply if a user is filtered out. See View a group's members. |
| External child group members can't access content of internal parent group | Emails sent to the parent group are not sent to external nested members, as they are filtered out. External nested members remain in the child group and receive emails sent directly to the child group. If the parent group is added to an internal Google Chat space, external nested members are filtered out of the space. See View a group's members. If a Google Drive file is shared with the internal parent group, external nested members don't get access to the file. |
| Child group members may post to the parent group | If the parent group allows all members of the group to post, members of the child group can also post to the parent group.* *This does not apply if a user is filtered out. See View a group's members. |
| Child group members may receive messages posted to parent groups | If you want child group members to receive messages posted to the parent group, set the Who can post permission for the child group to All organization members or a wider permission setting, such as Anyone on the web. For details, go to Set permissions for managing members and content. Otherwise, child group members may not receive messages posted to the parent group. |
Add a group to your group
-
In the Google Admin console, go to Menu
Directory
Groups.Requires having the Groups administrator privilege.
- On the Groups list, point to the group that will become the parent group.
- In the parent group row, click Add members.
- Enter the name of the group you want to add to the parent group. Note: Use commas to separate multiple group names.
- Click Add to group.